The Fascist Subtexts of ‘Attack On Titan’

by Kien-Ling Liem

Warning: this article contains spoilers for Attack On Titan. 

When glanced upon, Attack On Titan is an entertaining anime series that has a plethora of engaging, lovable characters – it’s no surprise that the show is loved by everyone. But when you read between the lines, there are fascist subtexts including references to Nazis, the oppression of Jews, market structures (such as capitalism and communism) and how this parallels many aspects of the modern day world. Over the years, Attack on Titan has moved from a simple good vs. evil narrative to a complex struggle with humanity and its flaws, and the original author, Isayama Hajime, has since not clarified any political intentions. 

For those who haven’t seen the show yet, here’s a quick overview. There are two main races: Eldians and Marleyans. The Eldians live on Paradis Island, and the Marleyans live on Marley, the motherland. There are Eldians living on Marley that are in intermittent zones and refugee camps being treated horribly. Notably, they are forced to wear armbands. In a war fought between the Eldians and Marleyans many decades ago, the Eldians were the dominant race with the power to transform into Titans on their side, emerging victorious through the oppression and torturing of thousands of Marleyans. At one point, the Eldian king decides to take a portion of his people and flee to an island to escape war, whilst also removing all memory of historical events from the citizens. But the horrors endured remain fresh in the minds of the Marleyans, who crave blood and retribution. Marley is now the dominant race on the motherland – it’s as if they’ve flipped a switch, and they plot a way to retake Paradis Island. Titans surround both lands and kill thousands every year, but a chosen few have the ability to morph into more powerful versions of Titans and are used as war tools. 

According to Screen Rant, the show was born from Isayama’s frustration with the world, resulting in him leaving home after 18 and working in an internet café. Here, he witnessed all sorts of personalities and flaws in human nature which would later become the Titans. Isayama stated that the story was about ‘breaking free of one’s shackles’, and the shackles arguably refer to humanity itself. When the series first debuted, there were some criticisms about the political aspects of the plot, but Hajime insisted that it wasn’t his intention. Despite this, it does not remove the fact that there are underlying political motives being enforced and that it opens up a gateway for members of the alt-right to push their narrative as they are able to relate to it.

Let’s start with the fascinating system of Paradis Island that for some reason faced no rebellion despite its incredibly capitalistic, unfair and unstable nature. The island has three walls: Maria, Rose and Sina. Wall Sina is the innermost wall, protecting the lands of the rich, and Wall Maria is the outermost wall where the largest and poorest Eldians reside. The population in Wall Sina is, naturally, given more resources and protection than the rest; this did result in conflict, but only when their roles were more distinctly highlighted when the Titans broke in. When it comes to their security being threatened directly, it was obvious that the rich were being sheltered, whereas the poor were being used as literal shelter. They were simply a human shield to the rich. Furthermore, the wealthy are secluded, but in more ways than one: firstly, in the literal sense that they are guarded by bodies and walls, but also mentally. They have no sense of patriotism or empathy; no motivation to protect anyone but themselves, and this results in them being lazy and having little connection to the reality of the outside world. We can draw a parallel with this to real-life celebrities or the insanely wealthy in general – some are so concealed within their own little bubble that they forget people are suffering due to their actions. 

Another interesting aspect of their society is that although largely capitalistic, it was still very much government controlled in the sense that the media was supervised and there wasn’t much free speech. The system also used police brutality and a mindless army to cover up their mistakes. This is seen when the government tried to assassinate Levi and his crew, the scout regiment, who overlook Titan combat and outside exploration, for wanting to travel more of the Titan-infested outside world and knowing too much about their plans. In one of the scenes, a soldier is explaining why he follows orders: he states that it’s because his work in the army and compliance with their orders will lead him into the safety and leisure of the inner walls. Unfortunately, this is the mentality of most, if not all, of the population. Not only are they ignorant of long term solutions, but they are also too infatuated with their own safety and would be willing to leave the rest behind in a heartbeat. This resulted in little motivation to fight for their island as everyone wanted to move up the hierarchy and into the inner walls. Soldiers’ deaths are not truly honored, and the stigma that those who wished to defend the rest from Titans had death wishes festered and grew. 

Perhaps the main appeal to the alt-right in Attack On Titan is its reference to the dynamic of Nazis and the oppression of Jewish people during the Holocaust. The Eldians living on Marley are forced to wear armbands as a sign of their separation and their sins which look strikingly similar to those that Jewish people wore when Nazis were in control. This may be an unintentional historical reference, as the author never confirmed nor denied it, but it still hosts itself as a gateway to alt-right tropes as a product of Hajime’s silence. Because the author never stated his opinions on these references, most of the interpretations lie in public discourse, and the result of this is a plethora of memes, jokes, etc., with Jewish people used as the punchline. Users on Reddit and other platforms use scenes from Attack On Titan and its plot lines to create memes to enforce their alt-right agenda. 

Another interesting but slightly unrelated topic is that the Eldians that live on Marley are so indoctrinated by transgenerational guilt that they have this distorted idea of glory. They want so badly to atone for sins that they never committed, and would willingly die for the country and its approval because legacy after death is more important than living. Why would you want to obey a country and give your life to a government who doesn’t care about you? There’s a reason they use Eldians as war machines, and not the native Marleyans themselves. Eldians on Marley are a product of their environment as can be seen from their internalized racism. 

Attack On Titan doesn’t necessarily say what is good or bad, but does provide an outlet for alt-right interpretations. Hajime states that he prefers telling stories that do not give straightforward answers to complex moral questions, hence his silence. ‘Ultimately, I don’t think [Attack on Titan] passes judgment on what is ‘right’ or ‘wrong’’, he says, which I do think is true. The show does not depict a certain message, or moral, but it does draw parallels with real life. At the end of the day, the story is simply just a story, and the interpretation is up to the public, but its tropes and response of the public are worth noting.